Interesting facts about Canada's PMs

Maple leaf flag approved by MPs

1964 — Members of Parliament vote 163 to 78 in favour of a Canadian flag with a red maple leaf on a white background flanked by two red bars. Prime Minister Lester Pearson‘s government finally forced closure on the stormy debate, calling for the vote at 2:15 a.m.

The design isn’t Pearson’s original preferred design. Last May he was pushing for a flag with three red maple leaves joined by a stem on a white background flanked by narrower blue bars. It raised an outcry that pressured the Prime Minister into turning the flag design over to a special parliamentary committee.